In the course of today's
U17 Asian Cup
（China was drawn in the same group as South Korea, Bahrain, Bhutan and Maldives in the (08 age group) qualifying group draw. Coached by Japanese
Uemura Kenichi (1961-), Japanese novelist
The Hangzhou 08 National Junior will represent China in this event.
At the beginning of February this year, after deliberation by an expert panel, the CFA decided to appoint Kenichi Uemura as the head coach of China's U16 national men's soccer team (08 age group national junior). Kenichi Uemura was born on April 22, 1974 and holds AFC professional level coaching qualifications. During his playing days, he played for a number of teams, including Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Sakura Osaka, and was selected for the Japan national men's soccer team, representing Japan in the 1996 Olympic Games. After transitioning to coaching, he coached Sanuki Kama Yukai and Kumamoto Crimson U-18 in Japan. After coming to China, he led the Wuhan City team to the third place in the Men's 17-18 age group of soccer in the 1st Student (Youth) Games (Open Division), and led Wuhan Three Towns 05 to the third place in the 2nd China Youth Soccer League and CFA National Youth Soccer League (Men's U-19 Division).
The 20th U17 Asian Cup qualifiers will be held from October 19th to 27th. According to the rules of the tournament, the first place winners of each group, and the second place winners of the five groups with the best results, totaling 15 teams, together with hosts Saudi Arabia, will advance to next year's final stage of the tournament.
The Chinese team will face a strong opponent in the qualifiers, South Korea, as well as the strength of the Bahrain team should not be underestimated. Bhutan and Maldives, though weaker, cannot be taken lightly in the qualifiers. Kenichi Uemura will lead this young Chinese team and will try to achieve excellent results in the group stage and advance to the final stage of the competition next year.
The CFA and the fans are looking forward to Kenichi Uemura's coaching, and hope that he can lead the 08 National Junior Team to show excellent technical and tactical levels and achieve excellent results in this qualifying tournament. Every game of the qualifier will be a test of the team's strength and cohesion, and we look forward to the Chinese team's success under the leadership of Kenichi Uemura.
